TRITON secures growth prospects for the coal tar chemicals business

Published on 2007-12-06. Author :
SpecialChem

Evonik Industries AG has signed an agreement
for the sale of RÜTGERS Chemicals to the financial investor TRITON. The sale
price has not been disclosed. The agreement is subject to the approval of Evonik's
Supervisory Board and the cartel authorities responsible. The transaction is expected
to be finalized in the first quarter of 2008.

Says Dr.
Alfred Oberholz, a member of the Executive Board of Evonik and chairman of the
Supervisory Board of RÜTGERS Chemicals: "With the sale to TRITON, we see
good development potential for our coal tar chemicals activities. The business
has passed into good hands, and all in all we are highly satisfied with the transaction."
Adds Oberholz: "In the Chemicals Business Area, Evonik focuses on specialty chemicals
and had therefore decided to divest RÜTGERS Chemicals."

As
an internationally operating basic chemicals company, RÜTGERS Chemicals is
Europe's leading producer of coal tar chemicals and a global raw materials supplier
to the aluminum and steel industries. In 2006 the company generated sales of €650
million and an operating result (EBIT) of about €60 million. Sales revenues
of about €700 m are expected for 2007.

The 2006 agreement
with employees to safeguard the future of the sites of RÜTGERS Chemicals
GmbH is an important cornerstone for close collaboration with employee representatives.
TRITON explicitly recognizes this agreement.

At company
headquarters in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, RÜTGERS Chemicals operates the world's
largest coal tar refinery. Additional facilities are located in Belgium and Canada.
The Aromatics Business Area produces pitches for the aluminum and steel industries,
industrial oils, and naphthalene for other branches of industry. The Downstream
Activities Business Area, which pools the processing expertise of RÜTGERS
Chemicals, produces products used in, for example, the automotive and construction
industries. Additives for the concrete industry and precursors for the paints,
adhesives, and sealants industries find global application in high-growth markets.

RÜTGERS Chemicals currently has about 950 employees
worldwide and production facilities with good transport connections at eight chemical
sites in Europe and North America.

TRITON is a leading
independent private equity company. It pursues an investment strategy focusing
on companies with significant development potential in German-speaking and northern
European countries. TRITON operates from local sites in Frankfurt, Stockholm,
and London. TRITON manages funds totaling €1.7 billion with investments from
well-known German and international institutional investors. TRITON typically
invests in companies worth between €50 million and €1 billion or above.

Company
information

Evonik Industries is the creative industrial
group which operates in three highly profitable, promising business areas: Chemicals,
Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert
in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest
private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity,
specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability.

Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
In fiscal 2006 around 43,000 employees generated sales of €14.8 billion and
an operating profit (EBIT) of over €1.2 billion. Evonik plans to enter the
capital markets in the first half of 2008.

Disclaimer

In
so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release and where
our forward-looking statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations
and statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results
or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Evonik
Industries AG assumes no obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements
contained in this release.